5 DIY Spice Racks and Kitchen Organizing Solutions

They didn’t offer shop class in my high school, so I came to my love of power tools and sawdust well after I graduated college. (My dad owned a drill from the 1970s and six random bits.) But, if I had, I’d like to think I would have made myself a spice rack—that classic first woodworking project. Especially now, because I need one. Badly! Sure, my spices and dried herbs are all in matching jars and labeled properly, but they always seem to be jockeying for position inside my cabinets. And, I can never see them at a glance to know what I have or how fresh they are.

So, this month, I’m going to build one for myself and take inspiration from all the great DIY ideas that homeowners have come up with and shared around the ‘net. Here are five of my favorites:

Photo: instructables.com

This DIY test tube spice rack is a great use of easily sourced materials with a big impact. For those without a huge shop of tools, it can be built in an afternoon with just a plywood bamboo strip, a drill, and rubber o-rings to float the test tubes in holes. Genius.

Photo: discovercreatelive.com

If you’re kitchen is filled with other antiques or rustic pieces, using a found piece can make for an attractive, attention-grabbing spice rack. Kate from Discover.Create.Live built this one from a vintage Coca-Cola crate. You can find all kinds of cool boxes, trays, and storage pieces at flea markets and antique malls. And, since you can source glass jars in nearly any size, you can customize a perfect solution!

Photo: oldsweetsong.com

My friend Amy lives in a small NYC apartment, and needed a super space-saving solution. So she created this gem by purchasing some magnetic tins (available at the kitchen supply store) and securing them to the underside of her cabinet with the cheapest of all pre-cut and safe-edged metal strips—two 12″ rulers. Get the full how-to at Old Sweet Song.

Photo: diylife.com

If you can sacrifice the first two inches of space inside your cabinets, a back-of-the-door spice rack, like this one, will provide the ultimate organization. Joe Provey provides the complete tutorial at DIYLife. I’m 90% sure this is the direction I’ll be taking.

Photo: fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com

And don’t forget—going horizontal is always another option. Fake-It-Frugal came up with this no-cost solution by recycling cardboard packaging into an in-drawer spice and seasoning organizer. Find out more here.

Have you seen or made any creative DIY spice racks or kitchen storage solutions? Let us know in the comments below!